RUSSIA PRAISE OPEC+ FOR COUNTERING U.S. ‘MAYHEM’

Sun 09 October 2022:

On Sunday, the Kremlin applauded OPEC+ for agreeing to production cuts that had effectively countered the “mayhem” the United States had sown in the world’s energy markets.

According to Reuters, President Joe Biden’s White House and the Saudi royal family are currently at odds due to the OPEC+ decision to reduce oil production despite strong U.S. opposition.

The White House made a lot of effort to stop the output reduction. Prior to the midterm elections, in which his Democratic party is battling to keep control of the U.S. Congress, Vice President Biden wants to prevent a spike in gasoline prices in the United States.

IS OPEC ‘ALIGNING WITH RUSSIA’ AFTER PRODUCTION CUTS?

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was very good that such “balanced, thoughtful and planned work of the countries, which take a responsible position within OPEC, is opposed to the actions of the U.S.”.

“This at least balances the mayhem that the Americans are causing,” Peskov said, according to Russian news agencies.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said a decision by OPEC+ to cut oil production was “unhelpful and unwise” for the global economy, the Financial Times reported.

Peskov said that the United States had begun to lose its composure over the OPEC decision and was even trying to push additional volumes of its reserves into the market.

“They are trying to manipulate with their oil reserves by throwing additional volumes into the market. Such a game will not lead to anything good,” Peskov said.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Wednesday that the OPEC+ decision was “short-sighted” as the global economy was still languishing from “the continued negative impact of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s invasion of Ukraine”.

“It’s clear that OPEC+ is aligning with Russia with today’s announcement,” Jean-Pierre concluded.

But OPEC has denied that accusation. The group’s secretary-general, Haitham al-Ghais, on Friday said, “This was not a decision from one country against another.”

Saudi Arabia, one of the main players in OPEC, also said the move was necessary to respond to rising interest rates in the West and a weaker global economy.

“Show me where is the act of belligerence,” energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said, adding that markets required “guidance without which investment would not happen”.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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